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Gone are the days when Apple devotees stood in endless lines outside minimalistic Apple
AAPL,
stores, peering in the massive glass windows waiting for the chance to get their hands on the newest iPhone before they sold out. Now, diehards can simply pre-order the latest edition of the iPhone with just a few taps on their old ones.
That is, of course, unless they tried to check out with their very own Apple Card.
Apple Card holders were met with error after error on Friday morning while trying to pre-order the iPhone 13.
The Apple Card, which launched in 2019, allows card holders to earn 3% cash back on any Apple-related purchases and 2% back on anything bought with Apple Pay. That means it’s most likely that Apple’s biggest fanatics were struggling to get their payment through for a pre-order.
Enough shoppers were having a problem using their Apple Card to order the new phones that “Apple Card” quickly became a trending topic on Twitter
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Friday, and remained trending for hours after the pre-order opened at 8 a.m. Eastern.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Self-proclaimed Apple junkies were let down Friday morning, giving the process a “two big thumbs down” review.
“I don’t know what was going on this morning, but as an iPhone Upgrade Customer, who prebooked their upgrade and tried to pay with an Apple Card that would not process that payment, the checkout process was NOT what I’m looking for,” one consumer, with a Memoji profile picture, tweeted. “Two big thumbs down.”
Alas, some fortunate consumers had no problem using their Apple Card to pre-order the new iPhone.
Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini, along with updated iPads and Apple Watches, this week during its annual product event ahead of the holiday shopping season.
“These are the best iPhones we’ve ever created,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook crowed from the stage of the Steve Jobs Theater.
Read more: Apple reveals iPhone 13 lineup, iPad Mini price increase and larger Apple Watch
The new iPhones don’t look all that different from their predecessors, though they do come in a range of new colors — pink, blue, midnight, starlight and red. But Apple said the new generation of phones will have upgraded internal components and a faster camera sensor.
Smartphone sales lagged in 2020 as many consumers chose to instead upgrade personal computers and other devices during pandemic lockdowns. Still, Apple had record iPhone sales during the 2020 holiday season, selling roughly $179.5 billion worth of iPhones in the 12 months from July 2020 though June 26, 2021, up from $144.7 billion in the previous 12-month period.
Related: A free iPhone 13? Wireless carriers’ subsidies could make it happen, with some catches
The iPhone 13 will start shipping out on Sept. 24, for those who managed to actually pre-order it.
